


Tapas With Tepes

by ecastle_vania



Category: Castlevania (Cartoon), 悪魔城ドラキュラ | Castlevania Series
Genre: Cooking Lessons, F/M, Food Metaphors, Food Porn, How many phallic vegetable references can I make, M/M, Multi, Music references unleashed, Phone Sex, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Prompt Fic, Self-Indulgent, Sexual Fantasy, This is absurdly silly and it makes me happy, Voyeurism, What Have I Done, Zoom Call Sex, look away, pandemic fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-14
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-21 09:40:09
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30019797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ecastle_vania/pseuds/ecastle_vania
Summary: “God I fucking love those sounds. Say his name Sypha,” Trevor hissed, “I want to hear it.”“Adrian,” she whimpered. “But Trevor--”“Again,” he told her and Sypha shuddered, tension building even as she crested.I could come twice,she realized and thought she might try for it.“Adrian, please,” she asked. “I want to get on my knees for Trevor. I really miss that; I love it.”Trevor groaned, “That makes two of us babe.” His voice was tight, the words ripped from him, like a child devouring a cookie. “No one has a mouth like yours.”“Tell me,” she said and moved her hand between her thighs. “And tell Adrian.”
Relationships: Alucard | Adrian Tepes | Arikado Genya & Trevor Belmont & Sypha Belnades, Alucard | Adrian Tepes | Arikado Genya/Trevor Belmont/Sypha Belnades
Comments: 10
Kudos: 18





	Tapas With Tepes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “So then you take the salt and…”  
  
**Sypha, look, it’s gaping again!**

She’d already noticed. The man was stunning, all she did was stare at him. Well, that and listen to that voice. Let it creep down her throat like little love bites, leave teeth marks across her breasts and lick down across her belly until it sunk two fingers into the slick she could feel seeping over her lips. Sypha moaned quietly and bucked against her hand.  
  
**Holy shit! I think we might get some collarbone!!**

On the screen, Adrian Tepes smiled. Sure enough, the open collar of his shirt gaped and there was a hint of bone as tempting as a swirl of frosting on a cupcake.

“It’s only minutes now,” he neatly stripped his oven mitts off and laid them just so on the granite countertop. “Soon you’ll be tasting something you’ve never had before! I promise you’ll be satisfied.”  
  
“Oh I know it,” Sypha whimpered and fisted her hand into the sheets, wishing it was his hair. It was so beautiful; that thick, golden mass. He always pulled it back after the intro conversation with the class and each time she held her breath. Imagined having it under her hands.

The redhead envisioned him pulling it back that same way, rolling up his sleeves and then pausing to look down at her, just as confident as he was on camera. But instead of saying, “Now remember, check your ingredients first,” he would say, “How would you like to be filled today, Sypha?”  
  
**He could taste me anytime. Fuck, just imagine it. I bet his dick is 10 inches long. Great. Now I can’t decide if I want to be pounded into the floor by him, or fuck you on the counter.**  
  
Sypha had absolutely no idea what recipe Adrian was working on or where in the steps she was supposed to be. She’d turned her camera off ten minutes ago so she could put her laptop on the bed, reach under her skirt and listen to Adrian Tepes’ voice while she came.  
  
**Better yet, he could fuck me while I am inside of you. Do you think we could get the rhythm right? We could be double-stuffed like these mushrooms. How about that for an appetizer?**

She snickered. Her boyfriend was adorable and sadly over 4000 miles away. Unfortunately Trevor had still been in Edmonton on business when lockdown hit and was stuck in his apartment there. Usually he was two months out, six weeks back.

It’d been six months now and she missed him terribly. They’d faithfully talked every day, even doing puzzles together or watching Netflix and Facetiming.  
  
They’d decided to take a cooking class so that they could explore something new. At least, that is what she told Trevor. In reality, her lover had lost 10 pounds and started to look thin in his face. Sypha had gotten worried and put her foot down, citing ‘staying connected,’ as her reasoning for the class. 

Granted, Trevor had fought tooth and nail over the concept, citing his microwave as perfectly serviceable. After suggesting that she might cook for him in the pink teddy he liked when he got back, and googling “hot cooking instructor” and “in my area,” she’d hit pay dirt. It was incredibly lucky that they were only an hour apart in time zones or this class might not have been possible.  
  
‘Tapas with Tepes’ was the beginner’s class and targeted toward fun, tasty appetizers. The instructor photo and description intrigued them. Adrian Tepes was gorgeous, and wasn’t it lucky that he was exactly both their type. 

Trevor had liked his height, aloof expression and high cheekbones. Sypha had been instantly attracted to his long, gorgeous hair, exoticly colored eyes and perfectly tailored outfit. They’d Youtubed him.

Between the visual feast of the man, his elegant, unimpressed voice and those shoulders that looked like her grandfather’s sawhorse grew arms, he’d been an immediate “yes” for both of them. They signed up right away, excited by the food and the instructor.  
  
They didn’t say it but the class could have been on cooking insects on the moon and they would have taken it. Afterward, Trevor and Sypha sexted for an hour while watching the video on a loop and then had a Zoom call that ended in orgasms.

Adrian’s intense passion for food had been sexy as fuck and his high brow distain for ‘trash’ food had turned the crank of desire for both of them. _Who are we kidding, we just want to be told we needed to make better choices while he spanks us,_ she thought again, shuddering as her pleasure deepened.

Trevor and Sypha had already agreed that they would be taking every class he offered. The classes weren’t cheap but fortunately they both worked from home and still had the same income. Now that they weren’t going out, they could afford these classes without issue.

On the laptop screen, Adrian said, “And of course, fresh pepper.”

 **That’s it, he reached for the pepper grinder, I’m gonna cum.**  
  
Sypha gasped, laughing, but also feeling her own lust tighten into a velvet fist in response. “Siri. Text Trevor: ‘Way ahead of you Belmont, estimated time of explosion T minus 2 minutes. It was the hair tie for me. Let’s see who comes first.’ Send text.”  
  
Leading up to the first class, they had joked about being hungry for Tepes and not the Tapas. Trevor had sent her Van Halen’s “Hot for Teacher,” when they got the reminder email about the upcoming class, and she’d sent him, “So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings” by Caroline Polachek. 

They set up a playlist and the songs got more and more explicit. Trevor named it ‘Tap Ass with Tepes,’ and Sypha photoshopped Adrian’s face on a leatherbound dom for the cover art. 

Four days later she called Trevor at 2:30 am after three glasses of wine, and an extended session with her vibrator in the bath. The playlist cycled in the background as she described watching him get fucked by Adrian while Trevor’s tongue was buried inside of her and he thrust into her mouth. Listening to Trevor pant over the phone had been unbelievably erotic and when he came, she moaned with him.  
  
The next time they Facetimed. Trevor mimicked Adrian’s accent and told her that raw wasn’t just for the kitchen. That he’d fuck her on the counterop and lick the salt off her thighs. It should have been ridiculous, but she’d felt the fluttering edges of her orgasm like a fork making patterns into a pie crust, and told him to say it again. 

The intensity on his face as he instructed her to say Tepes’ name, only sharpened the blade carving painful need into her that spelled A-D-R-I-A-N. Like ripened fruit falling from the tree, her body had plummeted into the mixing bowl of pleasure.

She’d finally asked Trevor in the middle of Facetiming the night before class: would he ever consider a menage a trois with Tepes? If the opportunity ever arose of course. 

Given that everyone was in lockdown and there seemed to be no end in sight, it seemed like a safe enough question. 

She’d expected him to laugh. She’d thought maybe he’d joke. There was nothing that could have prepared her for his slight blush and the averted gaze. Her heart had hammered in her chest and she almost missed his mumbled, “Hell yeah I would.” 

His relief was obvious when she grinned and said, “Thank God.” The number of weiner and sausage jokes in their texts sky rocketed.

By the time that the class actually started, they both knew that while they still joked about it, it wasn’t really a joke anymore. They wanted him, badly. It was a fantasy that they shared together and would act on together, given the chance. 

That first night, they were both prepared to have the daydream burst when the real thing came into focus. They’d even agreed to be on the class Zoom on their laptops, and a call on their cells so they could discuss in real time.

For better or for worse, the fantasy had not burst. Adrian Tepes actually _was_ that beautiful and that intense. He spoke in that low, dryly amused manner and his laugh was a delightful, rich sound that was always clipped short, as though he didn’t think he should be allowed to laugh.

He was disarmingly charming and seemed completely unaware of it. The chef would crack a surprisingly obscene joke, flash a full-bodied grin at a weak quip from one of their classmates, and always ended the call with a sincere “enjoy the fruits of your labors and until next time, take care of yourself.”  
  
Sypha’s favorite moments were when he looked up under lashes that she would swear he had done by a makeup artist, with his lips parted and awareness in his gaze. He would offer the gentlest of smiles and the tiny edge of his canine would glimmer.   
  
Inevitably she would wonder if that wasn’t the same look he would get right before he would bow his head like he was going to say grace. His blonde tresses would caress her bare thigh, and he would press his lips against the heart of her.  
  
A timer went. “Oh, _fuck_ ,” Sypha hissed as Adrian moved gracefully between his stove and the sink. She loved the way he moved, like a long line of syrup between pitcher and plate.

He bent down and opened the oven. The back tie of his apron was a neat bow and his ass flexed in black jeans, perfectly rounded handfuls like the dinner buns on her counter.

 **SYPHA WE HAVE ASS! I! WANT! THAT! ASS! LOOK AT IT, HOW HOT WOULD IT BE IF HE WAS NAKED AND OFFERING HIS ASS LIKE THAT?! I KNOW WHAT I WOULD DO TO THAT ASS AND IT WOULD BE AN ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT BUFFET.**  
  
Sypha couldn’t laugh anymore, she was too close. “Siri, call Trevor.” The phone line chimed as she waited for him to pick up. The moment the line engaged she started talking.  
  
“I’m on his kitchen island, naked, the cold granite under my belly. You’ve got my hair in your fist and you are fucking me so hard that you can hear the slapping sounds.”  
  
Trevor didn’t hesitate and when he answered, it was a needy growl. “Fuck, Sypha, you are so wet, just dripping over me and you are panting. Those pretty little helpless moans you make.”  
  
Sypha arched and moved her hand faster. The heat was building now, a steady building pleasure like bread rising in the oven. Helpless, she moaned.

“Yes,” Trevor’s voice sounded strained. “That sound, _just_ like that. That sound tells me how close you are. That’s when he says it.”  
  
The redhead could barely form words, but she could see it so well. “He says, ‘Make her come Trevor, I want to lick her orgasm off the stone. I want to taste the pleasure you’ve given her.’ ”  
  
“ _God Sypha, that’s so fucking hot.”_ Trevor hissed.  
  
She could hear Adrian’s voice, like an echo through the phone. He was talking about the importance of properly oiling the pan. She could just imagine one of his long elegant fingers, dripping with olive oil and sliding between the curves of her ass.

“So you..oh, _yes,_ ” she rolled her nipple between her thumb and forefinger. “You pull me up by my hair and fuck me harder.” Her hand sought out the places that held the sweetness of a summer strawberry and the dark promise of a full-bodied red.

“And smack your ass,” Trevor answered, “I like it when it’s all flushed from my hands.”  
  
“Yes, oh _fuck,_ I _love_ that,” Sypha whimpered, “I’m just wailing your name now, my hands gripping the edge of the counter so I can match your pace.”  
  
“Hell yes, the way you move your hips? Like we were melting into each other.” Trevor groaned. 

“Right before I come,” he ground out, “Adrian steps into the pool of light over the island.” 

On the computer, Adrian smiled, his lips parting gently. He was reminding the class to check their emails for the ingredients list tomorrow. Class was ending now.  
  
“And he’s naked,” she could see it, with that inviting smile. He was gorgeous. Her fingertips danced over aching flesh. “No! No, he’s in that red apron that you like so much! He’s built like a dancer, strong but not over muscled.”

Trevor hissed, “ _Only_ the red apron. And he tells me not to come.”  
  
“Ohmygooood, that shit is so good; _just_ the apron?? With that ass?!” she gasped and pressed her thumb firmly against her pulsing need. “Oh, _Trevor,_ I am really close!”  
  
“He tells me to get on my knees instead,” she could hear the hitches in his voice, in time with the strokes of his hand. “In that voice he uses when he talks about MacDonald’s.”  
  
“Oh, _oh,_ the MacDonald’s voice, fuck yeah,” her breath caught in her throat as she panted. “He sounds so furiously disapproving. Can you imagine him telling you not to gag in that voice?”

“Take it all Belmont, you know you can,” Trevor mimicked and Sypha wailed.  
  
“Get on your knees, Ms. Belnades,” her lover said in his ‘Adrian voice,’ “arch your ass, and show me that gorgeous, wet welcome.”

“Holy shit Trevor, that’s…!” Sypha couldn’t finish the sentence as it exploded over her. She gasped.  
  
Like a decadent dessert drowned in liquor and set aflame in the blink of an eye, Sypha’s orgasm flared high and hot. “Trevor, I’m--!” She panted, twisting against her hand as she came. Tiny sounds of desperate need escaped from her lips and he groaned heavily.  
  
“God I fucking love those sounds. Say his name Sypha,” Trevor hissed, “I want to hear it.”

“Adrian,” she whimpered. “But Trevor--”

“Again,” he told her and Sypha shuddered, tension building even as she crested. _I could come twice,_ she realized and thought she might try for it.

“Adrian, please,” she asked. “I want to get on my knees for Trevor. I really miss that; I love it.”  
  
Trevor groaned, “That makes two of us babe.” His voice was tight, the words ripped from him, like a child devouring a cookie. “No one has a mouth like yours.”  
  
“Tell me,” she said and moved her hand between her thighs. “And tell Adrian.”

\----

That was when he noticed. The ‘classroom’ app was open and there were two black screens. The other twelve were gone, but here were two little black boxes. Casually, he cleared the dishes and waited. _Maybe they were just finishing cooking and couldn’t spare a hand. Maybe they logged in and something came up?_

He turned back to the sink and frowned.  
  
His classes weren’t ridiculously expensive but they weren’t cheap either. There was the option to drop with a 75% refund after two classes because Adrian understood that his style wasn’t for everyone. Furthermore, he didn’t want to be stuck with anyone who would bitch about his food or his methods.

But this was the fourth class. They would have dropped by now. So why would they bother to log in if they were going to walk away? 

_See who it was first,_ he thought and went back to the counter with a sponge. Carefully he wiped around the laptop and attached camera, casually looking at the names under the black boxes. 

_Trevor Belmont. Sypha Belnades._ He put the crumbs in the garbage and thought. _How ironic. The two students that surprised me. I wouldn’t have thought they would get up and abandon the class._ He knew they’d been cooking at the beginning, because he always looked for them. _  
_ _  
_ _Sypha Belnades._ He remembered her instantly. The gorgeous redhead with the intelligent, insightful gaze.

She’d asked several questions about the properties of cooking oils in the first class that had intrigued him. He respected a good mind. It didn't hurt that she was flat out, show stoppingly beautiful, had an exquisite accent and razor sharp wit. 

Her kitchen had looked small but organized. He appreciated that, and was charmed by the handmade pottery bowls and dishes that she used.  
  
_Trevor Belmont._ The sexy brunette with the intriguing scar. He had a great laugh and what looked like an impressive physique.  
  
Trevor was quieter, but had made some clever quips about some of the vegetables that were just cheeky enough to draw a laugh without being disgusting. The one about the eggplant last week had made him quietly ache.  
  
Belmont’s kitchen was spartan but the space clean and open. There was a dynamic print of a bird of prey over the sink that Adrian had been intrigued by.  
  
Out of the corner of his eye, he noted that their screens were still connected to the feed from his kitchen. _Interesting,_ he thought, and wondered how long this could go on. 

_I should find this creepy,_ he reflected, but the truth was he didn’t. Perhaps it was being so comfortable in front of cameras. Perhaps it was because it was highly they likely weren’t even there anymore. But if he was honest, it might have something to do with his own reaction to them on the opening night of the class. 

Adrian wasn’t ever attracted to people. It was a once in a blue moon thing for him and it had been years since the last one. He could count his sexual attractions on both hands and he was in his thirties. 

To have two in his life at once? Unprecedented. Both signed up in the same class at the same time? Well, he’d started to wonder about fate. 

The blonde had been grateful that he had always allocated the initial 20 minutes of the first class to introductions because he’d needed the time to calm down before he stood. The first recipe had been exceedingly simple. Usually that was for his students. That night, it’d been for him.

The second class he’d deliberately downscreened their faces. It was a blessing that this was an online class and or else he would have risked just staring when he should be teaching. _Speaking of staring,_ he thought, _what should I do about this?_

He thought about it as he cleaned. Adrian put the leftovers in a glass dish and covered it with his beeswax wrap. Returning the excess food and ingredients to their places, there was only the dishes left now. He snuck a glance at the laptop. 

_Still connected,_ he observed and was certain now that they’d walked away from their computers.  
  
Disappointment was thick in his throat and he rolled his neck. _Why would you care?_ He asked himself and closed his eyes as he turned to the sink. _You don’t think your attraction might be returned do you? How absurd. They are here to learn cooking, not yearn as you do._ _  
_ _  
_ The thoughts swirled and he filled the sink. He slipped the gloves on and got out his brush. “Alexa, playlist Kitchen 3 please.” The beautifully quirky voice of Bjork filled the space and he hummed along. He had suds to his elbows when he remembered he hadn’t turned the camera off yet.

“Whatever,” he said aloud and laughed. Talking to himself was something he’d always done and it’d been amusing to him to read about the surge in instances of it because of the pandemic. _Welcome to my world,_ he thought.

He was used to isolation, used to being by himself. Adrian understood that he was a difficult man with high standards and enormous reserve. This didn’t lend itself to close friends and pool parties. 

_Who enjoys themselves at such things anyway?_ He thought with disdain.  
  
Granted, he did miss his outings to the farmer’s market. The pleasures of tasting the samples, smelling the herbs, holding the firm pliancy of the tomatoes, feeling the potatoes and apples for bruises. Adrian sighed. Everything was in plastic and smelled like sanitizer now. It was extremely disheartening.  
  
Furthermore, his norm of making bread on Wednesdays and Sundays had been completely disrupted by people snapping up flour and yeast like it was the apocalypse. It was absurd and annoying. 

If he believed that people would actually take the time to understand the beauty of the process and feel connected to the blessing of the food, he would be less irritated.

 _But it’s people who will make bread for a week,_ he thought with disgust. _Then they will tire of the effort and end up throwing away 17 lbs of flour because they panicked and bought the bulk bags._

The selfish squandering was insulting to him and acutely distressing. Adrian was keenly aware of food waste and those who went hungry because of it.

 _Alright, but the upside was that people are taking cooking classes in earnest now,_ he thought. _Chefs have the opportunity to instill that love into a broader audience and teach them about the sacred nature of the meal._

“You are very naive, Adrian,” he said to himself, laughing quietly. He emptied the sink of the soapy water, wiped down the sides and draped the gloves to dry. 

Idly he wandered to the fridge and took out the bottle of Riesling. He liked to have a glass while he cooked but couldn’t during class. That wasn’t appropriate or professional and Adrian Tepes was nothing, if not both.

He poured the wine and considered the cheeses in his fridge. Selecting brunost and gruyere, he placed them on a wood platter and added some thin rice wafers to compliment it. He slipped the wine glass through the opening on the platter and it nestled the base of the bulb into the wood.  
  
Pleased with his spread, he smiled when Antony and the Johnsons came over the speaker. It was a perfect night to work on his recipe notes.  
  
It was a secret project that Adrian held close to his chest and had started as something for his own personal library. It wasn’t ready yet, but the pandemic had accelerated his work on it and soon, he would go shopping for a publisher. 

A cookbook that approached food at a simple level but educated the reader at the same time. A series of recipes that he hoped would inspire and open the magic of cooking to everyone.

 _Sure, keep dreaming, Tepes,_ he told himself. But that was just it. It was a beautiful dream and he longed for it.  
  
Bringing his platter over to his laptop, he started abruptly. _Trevor and Sypha’s cameras were still connected._

Class had been over for almost thirty minutes now. Suddenly he was concerned. 

_Perhaps something had happened. Maybe they were injured or…_

_Both of them though?_ He wondered. 

_Maybe it’s a glitch in the server?_

_Only one way to find out._

Feeling slightly absurd, he spoke. “Mr. Belmont? Ms. Belnades? Is everything alright? I um, I wasn’t... I didn’t realize you were still connected. I apologize, I should have closed the feed.” 

He paused, “It shows that you are still online, but I am probably talking to my--”  
  
“Um, hi!” Sypha’s voice with that beautiful accent flowed out into the room and Adrian jerked. _Oh shit she’s there! What the hell? Why did--_ _  
_ _  
_ “I’m sorry, we didn’t realize we were still connected.” She sounded slightly breathless and very embarrassed. “Trevor and I were… on the phone and stepped away from the computer. Computers! Sorry about that!”

Adrian relaxed. That made sense, he’d forgotten about it in the midst of things too. 

“Oh! Of course, not a problem. I--” **_Trevor and I were on the phone._ **

_They knew each other then?_ Adrian was instantly fascinated, and spoke before he thought about what it would mean to engage in a conversation. Later, he would be grateful for it.  
  
“I didn’t realize you and Trevor knew each other! That’s so nice.” He smiled. “It’s nice that you would take a class together, how lovely.”  
  
“Oh, haha, we _are_ together. Well, not _physically_ together unfortunately. We’re a couple but separated by different cities because of the lock down,” she took a deep breath and when she spoke he could hear the smile in her voice. “We wanted to do some... _thing_ together. Something fun and interesting.” 

Adrian smiled. It was charming and very romantic. It was ironic that the two people that he was attracted to were together, but it also helped because there was no chance with either one then. It meant he would be able to get over his desire quicker. 

_Unless you think about them together in bed,_ his mind retorted. The idea was a full platter of tantalizing morsels dumped into his mind. He shifted to lean on the counter and was grateful for his apron.

“Well I am so pleased that you would decide that this class could do that for you,” he nodded. “It’s wonderful and I hope you are both enjoying yourselves. Well, I--”  
  
Trevor’s rich baritone boomed out and caught Adrian by surprise, “We love it! We are very much enjoying ourselves, so very much!” His camera flicked on and Adrian instinctively smiled. And then stared. 

Trevor was topless and in what looked like his living room. 

His defined shoulders, curling chest hair and lazily flexing bicep as he brushed his unruly hair out of his eyes, wouldn’t have made Adrian look twice on anyone else. On Belmont he was worried he might punch a hole through his cabinet with his instant arousal. 

_He’s like a prime cut of beef,_ Adrian thought, _and I just want to fire up the grill._ He resisted exhaling like a whistling tea kettle.  
  
“That’s so...yeah,” he said. When Sypha’s camera popped on he thought he was saved from looking like a complete idiot. 

_Guess again,_ he thought as he realized she was in her bedroom. On her bed. 

She was lying on her stomach and he could see down the front of her top. The turquoise lace winked out like a burst of lemon zest for his eyes and her breasts were delicate handfuls like whipped meringue.  
  
“Hello,” he said lamely and swallowed. _Good thing I cannot reach through this screen,_ he thought. _I’d been licking for my life._

She grinned. “Hi,” she said back.  
  
“So yeah,” Trevor continued. “We love this class; we’ll definitely be taking more of them if you are going to continue.”  
  
Adrian felt a thrill and instant regret. “I’m offering ‘Tapas’ again almost right after this one and then an intermediate baking class. There seems to be a high demand for baking with the pandemic.”  
  
“Yes, we’ll be in those, won’t we Trevor?” Sypha said and the brunette grinned and nodded. Adrian felt confused.  
  
“I’m sorry, I must have miscommunicated somewhere in there.” He tilted his head. “I’m offering the same class when this one is over. ‘Tapas with Tepes,’ _then_ the baking class.”  
  
Sypha shifted and her shirt went down another centimeter. Adrian gripped his cheese platter like it was trying to steal from him. 

“Yep, no, we caught that,” she said happily. “We believe in practice, and we like your teaching style. Easy to follow.”  
  
“Captivating, in fact,” Trevor inserted and leaned back. His abdomen came into view and Adrian coughed. 

_Those abs are what’s captivating,_ Adrian thought and was grateful he had a legitimate reason to stare at what had to be half a dozen eggs nestled in a carton under tanned skin.

His throat felt incredibly dry and he carefully set his platter down, extracted his wine and took a sip.  
  
He took another sip and felt like he could speak. “I am very flattered, really. I don’t think you’d need to take it twice, but that’s entirely up to you, of course.”

“We could use the instruction,” Sypha murmured and then cleared her throat. “Speaking of which, how are you liking teaching online? I believe you mentioned that this was a first for you.”

Adrian laughed ruefully and grabbed a cracker to keep his hands from clutching the countertop. There'd been something in her murmur that steamed hot inside of him.

“It’s very different. I’ve never invited people into my home to teach.” He cut a piece of the brunost and placed it on the cracker. “Usually I teach at the center. For the rare private lessons, I go to their place.”  
  
Trevor leaned forward and clasped his hands in front of himself. He grinned and Adrian bit into his cracker, wishing it was that beautiful bottom lip that made him think of peaches in the sun. 

“You teach private lessons?” the brunette asked. “That’s awesome! Would you ever do a private online lesson?” 

Adrian considered that while he chewed. It would be a different experience than he was used to and it would be hard to know what to price it as because it certainly wasn’t the hands on experience he normally offered. He swallowed. 

“I think it would depend on the client to be honest.” He shrugged. “I’ve never done one before and I would have to be clear on what they wanted to get out of it.”  
  
“That makes sense,” Sypha said quickly. “All this online stuff is new. Changes your norm, hey?” 

“Not as much as you might think,” the blonde said drily. “But yes, there are definitely some aspects that are quite different. _Like being vicariously invited into your bedroom and wondering if your panties match your bra._ _  
_ _  
_ There was absolutely no way he could straighten up while the camera was on now. It would take him 15 minutes to calm down after this call. He was harder than a frozen salmon.  
  
“I know what you mean,” Trevor said with amusement, “some of the things I always did, I just keep doing. Take gaming for example.” He spread his hands and Adrian was pretty sure he could span a pizza with then. 

“I would do that with Sypha and some of our friends on Friday nights when I was away. We’d play JackBox for hours. We still do that and it feels like the pandemic never happened,” Trevor said.

Adrian’s brows knit and he felt heat come to his cheeks. _Self-conscious is not a reasonable response here,_ he told himself. It didn’t change how he felt. He rarely had anything to talk about with people outside of food and this was a perfect example.

“Oh, ha ha, you’ll have to forgive me. I know nothing about video games.” Adrian tried to be blase about it.

“Oh, it’s not video games!” Sypha’s smile was understanding and she casually rested her chin on her fist. “It’s more like board games but you play them online. If you have a laptop, you can play.” 

The curve of her breasts pressed together like two scoops of sorbet melting in the sun and Adrian’s hand that was reaching for his wine fisted. He closed his eyes for a moment and willed his hand to open again. It wasn’t entirely steady as he brought the glass to his lips.

“Actually,” Trevor said offhandedly, raking a hand through his hair. “If you aren’t doing anything on Friday, you could try it. See if you like it?”  
  
_Is he inviting me to play this game with them?_ The idea was terrifying, exciting and shocking. For a moment Adrian couldn’t think of a thing to say.  
  
“I think you might like it,” Sypha said, her tone coaxing. “There’s a lot of variety and we own literally all the packs.”  
  
“Of course, you might be busy this Friday too,” Trevor chimed in. “I know it’s not a lot of notice, but another Friday perhaps?”  
  
Adrian cleared his throat. “Fridays are always busy you know. So many parties to host and I have to cook all day to get ready for it.” There was a pause and he felt his cheeks burn. _What a stupid joke,_ he thought and then Trevor snorted.  
  
“Okay, you had me there for a moment. You gave yourself away with the food though.” He sighed sadly and Adrian tipped his wine glass to the screen.  
  
Trevor shook his head dejectedly. “Some days it feels like I would give anything to go to a party and eat shitty appetizers from the frozen food section of Walmart.”  
  
Adrian choked on his wine when he inhaled sharply. 

Sypha looked alarmed. “For the record, we would never serve that!” she said. “He means that--”  
  
The blonde snickered and started to laugh. He waved at the screen apologetically. “Oh,” he gasped, “I just--” he tried to stop his laugh and it only got worse. 

_Stop it you fool,_ he thought but then Trevor joined in and Sypha followed. The combined sounds were wonderful and he felt a giddy lightness. It felt easy and fun to talk with them. And if he was semi-aroused the whole time, well that was between him and the cupboard. Literally.

“I’m sorry, I just... I can’t _imagine_ either of you tolerating the absolutely abysmal excuse for food that would come out of a Walmart freezer. I mean, the sheer _additives_ they put in such things, not to mention the sub par excuse for _ingredients_ that they try to mask by literally injecting the poor--” He shook his head and reminded himself that lecturing wasn’t attractive.  
  
“Yeah,” Sypha said with a huge grin, curiously slightly breathless. “How dare they. Certainly not remotely close to the food you would serve.”  
  
Adrian sniffed but a smile played on his mouth. “I would rather cook naked on national TV than serve that. Much less eat it.” He reached for another cracker. He missed Trevor’s huge grin and Sypha’s arched brow. 

“Well you could start by teaching the class naked,” the brunette said and Adrian snorted.  
  
“The point is to keep students happy, not blind them,” the chef said wryly.

“You might be surprised,” Sypha said with a laugh and Adrian felt a little crack of pleasure, much like breaking the surface of a creme brulee with a spoon. _She’s probably just being nice, don’t read too much into it._  
  
“So anyway, Friday we’ll be JackBoxing.” Sypha said with a grin. “7 pm. I can give you my cell if you want to think about it and text me.”

 _Fuck it,_ he thought. “Why not? I would love to try out these games. You bring the Walmart appetizers and I will do my best not to be terrible at whatever the game is.”

\---

He likes it greasy and sticky and gooey and salty  
I said what do you like  
He says you know what I like  
I like buttered popcorn

He took me to a show  
He said he wanted some more  
I said kiss me please  
He said after I eat

I said what do you like  
He says you know what I like  
I like buttered popcorn

For breakfast, lunch, and dinner too  
He eats  
Well, it worries me so  
I don't know what to do  
When I asked him what was happenin' in the world today  
He said more butter, more butter, more butter, more

_-"Buttered Popcorn,"_ The Supremes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \----  
> I need to take a minute to say some thank you's so please indulge me, these are very important:
> 
> Special thanks to Ms. Baja for the prompt idea and the whole Discord Server Clownslyvania for being so excited and supportive of this project! This one is for you! 
> 
> I have received invaluable encouragement from Armouredescort, Countess_Chinon_Dysandreux, MoonstoneMama, Crimson Tangerine, Fib, Nat and Mr. T. Baja. Each one of you is a truly beautiful and special person to me. Your belief in my abilities staggers me and inspired me to new levels of possibility.
> 
> And last, but never least, my dear, patient, supportive and understanding JAJ. You are everything.
> 
> \---  
> Models: Trevor -Tyler Johnson, Sypha -unknown, Adrian -Christopher Mason. Eggplant photo by Anna Suts via Pexels


End file.
